478870 e-Commerce Music website

The website design, we would like something "unique" but still clean, easy to use. We're not interested in an Amazon or eBay style clone (maybe should be, as those sites are successful) however... while we want something unique, fresh, we don't want graphics overkill. The site needs to be eye-friendly, not overwhelming, and yet still catchy/memorable, and pleasant to view/use. Even something like a uniquely designed mascot that may sit or pop up at various points of the site, pointing out to things, helping out... maybe doing a little "run" when a search is being performened "Our dedicated little music-monkey is searching our warehouse right now... give him just a few seconds to see what he finds." while an animation of a little monkey tossing around a bin of CDs, and books, is showing. That's just a random idea. But you get the point. Something unique, cool, fun.

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I don't really care what code the site will be designed in, as long as it will be SEO friendly. SEO, will also be part of this project. I believe, if the same people who are responsible for design, will also be responsible for SEO, they will build the site from scratch in a manner that is most conducive SEO. We will inform you, exactly which aspects of our products we wish the greatest search engine focus to be placed on (example... we may not necessarily care too much about the author of a book being used as a search engine keyword, as much as a particular book's ISBN number instead. ;)

Database: there is nothing that irritates me more, as a business owner, than limits. Thus, the product database will need to be designed, and optimized, for high speed performance, even to a point where our database will reach as many as one million products, or more. The database absolutely must be able to support as many as 1 million products, or possibly, more, without crashing or running at Commodore 64 speeds.

Naturally, I'd like to think goes without saying, but, an advanced "intelligent" search of our catalog, will have to be implemented as well. For example, on music CDs, catalog numbers (aka, product codes) can sometimes be written on a CD in the format: "SRCD-89202" but a customer might simply enter "SRCD89202" in the search window, seeking that particular CD. In such case, I would like our search engine to recognize this, and return the result. The same, would have to be applied to catalog/product database upload/update. If we have a listing in our catalog that has a product code of say "XRJL-892" but are now uploading a product that has a catalog "XRJL892" it will have to be recognized and treated as a duplicate entry.

Naturally, there are a number of "assumed" elements of a website, that I won't get into, but it will be my understanding, that these elements will be included (for example... "About us", "Contact us", and standard design elements of this kind).

The site update/content revision/edit admin panel, will need to be as simple and "WYSIWYG" like as possible, as I know nothing about html/php, etc. Thus, when I will want to change/edit the site (About us, promotions, discounts), I need it to be as rookie-friendly as possible.

Promotions/discount capability: the site will have an ability for me, the admin, to offer promotions (and send them via email to subscribers). Example, % discount on certain products (example, CDs only) and/or from a set category (example, set time/date begining/end, percentage discount, and product category that will be affected by the discount).

Buyer "wantlist" system designed, that will enable a buyer to enter title/author, catalog (product) number, and maybe another variable or two, of a product they are seeking. They'll be able to submit as many products as they will individually, or upload a "want list". Once they do so, we will have the ability to send them a link, directly to their cell phone, with price/availability of the items from their wantlist, and that will enable them to purchase the item, directly from their cell phone, instantly. If they are registered on our website, their payment preferences will be stored, and they'll simply need to confirm their password/purchase via their cell phone, and confirm the purchase that way.

The buyer "wantlist" system, will also have a test feature, where... once the list is submitted to us, the buyer will then have the option to enter their cell phone number, or cell phone mail address, and click "Test". Our site will send them a quick "It worked!" message (or something like that). Once it's successful, they can "save" the information, and when our team is able to locate their items in our system, we will send them the price/purchase email to their cell phone.

Language support (both in terms of menus (website layout/design) and the product database itself) will have to be in a number of major languages (English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Italian, Korean, Indian, Thai, and others...).

Catalog numbers/EAN/UPCs, etc... when updated, if entry exists, have option where I can either "skip duplicate" entries (based on catalog number), add new listing, or, update quantity of active listing.

Product database upload admin panel will be simple/easy to use, and will use a simple .csv template file I can upload to update my inventory.

Site/server will have some kind of anti-scraping security feature installed (too many calls from one IP in a short period, etc... or calls that have identical intervals, will be blocked for an hour or two, and reported to me via email... if the exact same server call pattern resumes from that IP again, and maybe a third time, that IP will be permanently blocked.

Product upload template, will accept either URLs for image locations (in which case those images will be automatically downloaded onto my server, and stored there- as opposed to simply linking to the image urls. The product template will ALSO accept a local path (example, C:\Images\[url removed, login to view]) for product images. Again, in such case, the image will then be uploaded onto my host/server, and accessed from that location when the item in question is viewed on the live website.

Please submit samples of "RELATED" websites, not just a generic cut and paste resume (everytime we post a project here, we're bombarded with generic resumes, that seldom have anything to do with our unique projects.) Naturally, we ignore those... and focus on the few that are specific and more related to our project.

We will consider your feedback, bid price, and, the delivery timeline when selecting the winning bidder. Just as you would likely not be happy if we did not pay the exact amount agreed upon, in the same way, we would not be happy if the project delivery time is not the same as agreed upon, so please.. be certain, that you enter a delivery time that can and will be met, even with the necessary testing/possible bugs, etc.

Remember, this is a complete project, from start to finish. You will be responsible for all design, implementation, setting up on the server/host, and everything else related. Basically, when the website will have our catalog uploaded, will be fully searcheable/working/live (online), and will be detected by the major search engines, and able to receive orders, the project will then be considered complete.

Additional details:

Look/feel:

Website/menus, I like this style/feel: [url removed, login to view]

However, I also like the side bar shopping cart (drag/drop style) from this site:

[url removed, login to view], thus

I would like it implemented into the "v2" design.

I would like the category tree to be much easier to access that it is on the correct "v2" site (you have to scroll down before you see the categories on the left). On main page, I'd like a mouse over, from the top/left menu, to show a drop down of "main" categories, and subsequent mouse-overs, to show subsequent menus. Clicking on the main Browse button, will just show the menus as standard clickable links, instead of the collapsing/expanding menu.

Shopping cart: both an "Add to cart" button and "Drag to shopping cart" feature. Drag using images. Where image unavailable, show a default "Click here to put this in your shopping cart". Also, have double click option for "send to shopping cart". Also have "double click" within shoppnig cart, to remove item.

Import inventory: I will later submit a template csv file that will have headers like: Product SKU (Stock Keep Unit... just an alphanumerical code, for example: CDSAUG2011_0003123, used to identiy this particular item in my catalog), Artist, Title, Store category (can support multiple categories for one item), Catalog number, Shipping Cost, Condition (used vs. new), Price, Brief descritpion, Long descritpion, EAN/UPC, image location (can accept both a local image path from hard drive, or a url, in either case, image will be automatically uploaded to my host/server from it's location, and stored/displayed from my host), Product Format (example, CD, DVD, Book, etc), and other product ID fields (example, weight, number of pages (for books), number of discs (for DVDs/CDs), Running time, Featured Product (This will just be a "Y" or "N" value, to be explained later), Video Content Embed Code (this will be where I will enter embed code, if there is a promotional video of the product available on YouTube, the video will be displayed in the product page), Custom1, Custom2, Custom3, Custom4 (Custom headers will not be included/uploaded to the website, unless they are changed... in which case they will be displayed like any other fields in the item details... example, I may be uploading video games, so in this case, I may want an extra header like "Genre of game" (example, Action, or Sports, etc). So in this case, I would change "Custom1" header to "Genre of game" and all the values in that column, would then be displayed next to "Genre of game: " in the product details, etc.

Add/Remove/Update inventory option:

The admin panel will also allow a simple three column .csv file to be submitted, which will have the following columns: Product SKU, Price, Quantity. This feature, will simply update the current listings in my store referencing the Product SKU (Stock Keeping Unit/Identifier), using the price, or quantity field. The Prrice "OR" Quantity field can be left blank. Example, if I want to update prices on three products, I will insert their SKUs in the 1st column, the new prices in the 2nd (Price) column, and leave the Quantity field blank, meaning that the quantity will not change. If I want to update quantity, I will put the SKU in the 1st field, again, to reference the products I'm editing, leave price field empty, and put in the new value (between 0 and... up to any number) for Quantity.

Export inventory: Admin panel will create a csv with all my active listings, in csv format. This option will allow me to select which fields I want to export (example, Price, Artist, Title, Condition), etc.

SEO:

Search engine optimization (included in the project), will focus primarily on products in my store being found through Catalog number searches, and EAN/UPC number searches. While I do want focus on product titles as well, I do realize that as we sell many CDs, Books and DVDs- a large portion of which are offered by hundreds of otehr vendors, we can't expect top ten results in Google if someone types in "Bon Jovi CD". However, if someone types in "Bon Jovi CD PHCR-23898" (the last part being a unique catalog number for a particular Japanese edition, as an example) then we want top ten ranking. This can be achieved, as most websites do not use catalog numbers or UPC/EAN numbers for SEO. Typing in the catalog number of many CDs today will yield a handful of results- very very few... so really, there is little excuse for why we cannot get top ten ranking in this kind of search.

Web content:

In addition to an attractive browsing menu (based on product categories we'll have set up), and of course, in depth "advanced" searches (search by product catalog number, or, search only for products in a certain category, with a certain condition, etc, etc), customers will have the option to register with us. Once they do, we will allow them the option to submit a "wantlist" (or searchlist) of products they seek. They will be able to submit the list using cut and paste (email format) into a text window,and send it this way, or, enter individual items. They will also have the option of entering their mobile phone number (and mobile email address- many countries have mobile cell phone addresses, used exclusively for emails sent to/from cell phones) and we will then be able to send them a message directly to their phone when the products become availble, and, give them a working menu directly on their phone, that will enable them to purchase the products, with just a few clicks, right from their cell phone. They'll be able to log in, enter payment info (or for example, be redirected to their paypal account via our shopping cart, enter their password, and pay for the products). Of course this will then show up in my admit panel as a new order, ready for processing.

Order processing:

I will submit a sample csv file with all the headers again, that I want in the Orders file, once the project gets going. My admin panel will show all current orders, both "Pending" and "Shipped". I will be able to select orders using check boxes, and click on "Ship" to mark them as shipped, and automatically generate an email to the buyer, stating a generic email with shipment info (I will have the ability to create/edit this standard email). Every set number of sales or hours, the site will generate an "orders" csv file, and send it to my email address. This file will contain "Shipped" orders (not pending). I will also have the option to "Cancel" a pending order (this too will generate an automated email to the buyer "We're sorry, this product is out of stock..." sort of email, which too, I will have the ability to edit contents of.)

Browsing:

Category tree will expand smoothly. Products will be visible under several views (small thumbs, medium thumbs, large thumbs), product title/artist, date of release, condition (ex. new, or, used) , and price. There will be a small magnifying glass by the thum, which, if moused over, will display a larger image... mousing away, will revert back to the original small thumb. User will be able to determine how many items they will to see displayed per page (between 10 and 100).

Search/Advanced Search: Our catalog will be searchable/viewabl/browseable by any of the fields used in the product upload templates (so, not only by artist, or author, but also by Publisher name, or by record company, or by catalog number... example... show all Music CDs, on the Sony Records label... etc).

Promotions:

Admin panel will allow me option to have "sales" and send them out to any of the member's lists. Of course, there will also be an "unsubscribe" disclaimer, at the bottom of the Promotion/Sale emails (again, all email content I'll have the ability to edit in my admin panel). Promotions will be applied to a number of variables I can choose in the admin (example, only a certain product category, or, all items in a certain price range...etc). I'll be able to set the start/end time, and the promotion (example... 20% off... or... $10 off... etc).

I would like the standard "Facebook iLike" buttons, MySpace, and Twitter, buttons included, that will allow us maximum exposure.

Affiliate Program page. There will be small banner on the page, offering a 15% Commission for our affiliates. Once clicked on, it'll show a page outlining our affiliate program, and a "Get more info" button, which will then show a simple form (name, email address, etc) to be submitted, and then their request will be sent to admin's email... who will then forward the person full details.

Further promotions.

Anytime someone clicks on a product category (example: Music \ CDs \ Hard rock ...) to browse, there will be a "featured" product showing (small image of the product, basic details (standard: Artist/title, Release date, Price, Condition, Brief descritpion), and, a video (again, embedded from YouTube) of the product. While the customer is browsing that category, I want the "featured product" to remain visible up top (sort of like freeze frame) while the rest of the page will still be scrolling through the items they are browsing through. I also want them to be able to browse through "featured" products at any time, once they're in a category. Anytime they click on another cateogory, the featured product (if one is avaialble in that category) will change. If they return to a previous category, a different featured product (From that category) will appear. There will also be a button, that says "See all available titles by _____(artist name)", right by the "Featured Item" which will then show all available items we have from this featured product/artist.

Main page: I want room for a disclaimer (banner), regarding product availability. I want to have the statement somewhere on the main page, stating that... if a product is ever ordered from us, and the order is refunded or canceled for any reason, we will send the customer an additional $5 for free (in addition to your full refund). This is our way of ensuring our clients, that we work dilligently to ensure our product catalog is always up to date.

I am very firm on having my database protected against data scraping. I wish for this database to be built in some kind of fashion that will make it extremely difficult to scrape. Furthermore, I want some of kind of security settings on the site, that will immediately throttle any scrape-like activity. It will allow them subsequent access, but, if... that same IP again makes a scrape-like attempt, their IP will be blocked. I will actually test this, by paying someone to attempt to data scrape my database once the site goes live for testing. If someone will be able to easily/successfully scrape it, I will not consider the project complete. Thus, this is very important for me. Please do create a site that will be safe from data scraping. I don't want to invest $2500 into a site, that, a few months later, will be cloned over and over, due to easily accessilble data scraping techniques.

Extras: I would like a small "Visitors currently browsing our store: " counter to be shown somewhere on the main page (just small, barely visible). However, I would like a random number, between 3 and 18 to be generated, and added to the "actual" number of current visitors. I think early on this will give us a little more "legitimacy", if people see that others are also browsing the store, and... who knows, might even create a mild sense of urgency in terms of shopping. I want the "variable" (random) number in the equation to stay the same for at least say, 10 minutes, on any session... so if someone reverts to the main page a few times in 1 minute, the "Active visitors" counter wont go from 2 to 18 to 4 to 19 in a matter of seconds... people will realize then it's bogus. If it fluctuates by one or two over a 10 minute period, that's more "realistic". :)

Ability for buyers to submit wishlists (or wantlists) of products, as well as their email address, and mobile email address and number, and the website will enable me, the admin, to then send a message to their phone, with the availability of items the customer asked for, prices, and the customer will then be able to make the purchase direct via their mobile phone (using a simplified/mobile version of the website's order page... they'll log in, confirm their stored payment info (or for examplem submit paypal login info) and with their mobile phone, will be able to place the order.

The site will be able to support unlimited number of data (1 million products, 1 million users etc). I truly want no limits on this. Even if the database were to grow to 50 to 100 million prodcuts one day (example, a site like Amazon has approx. 400-500 million products just in media category alone between all their websites), several of our current competitors offer several million products, so we want to have a database than will run smoothly, filter/search, and display, with ease, products even if the database will reach as many as 50 million or more products. This isn't likely, BUT, it is something I want the site to handle if it ever gets that big.

The details/requirements outlined here, are an "addition" to the original project outline, as shown on ScriptLance. Both the requirements here, and in the original outline, are to be considered equally valid, and applicable.

The website/project will not be considered complete, until the site is live, online, able to receive, and fully process orders, and working properly/bug free. Furthermore, as outline above, the site will begin appearing in search engine results (following SEO), and all server related configuration, setup, etc, will be implemented/taken care of, by your team. This, as mentioned before, is a "complete" project. I am not interested in doing any of the work myself (as I'm simply not qualified), so again... the project will be considered complete, only when the website is live, fully operational, both in the front end (what will be seen by visitors) and in the admin panel (what I can see/control, etc).

In reference to Admin Panel, I do want as much of it to be "WYSIWYG", as I dont know any html/php, etc. If I want to make changes to any of the text, headers, pages, etc... I do want it to be designed for an amateur to be able to use. Simple, quick input, and changes.

As a reference, I already have the domain purchased for this website. Once the site is being constructed, I will welcome and wish for, input from your team, as to the required hosting/bandwidth, server, and related aspects of the site, that I will need to purchase. Once I purchase the required host, etc..., I will relay the log info to your team, in order to enable them to configure everything, optimize it, and load the site onto my account, when it's ready to go live.

There are many more minor details I have not mentioned, I do trust that they will be considered as "standard" elements of a website. Example, I have not stated that I need a "Contact us" section, or... "About us" or... similar features, as I assume these are standard. This project outline, is to imply, that elements of website design considered to be "standard" elements of a site, will be included, whether mentioned in this project outline, or not.

Payment, of course, as is standard on SctriptLance, will be deposited into Escrow, and released once the project is 100% complete, again, as outlined above.

Thank you again for your interest, and I look forward to working together.